Commercial car and truck washing has become a focus of public concern and government regulation recently over the disposal of used wash water into municipal sewer systems or directly into the ground. The combination of soap, oil, dirt, and other chemicals in the used wash water can be harmful to the environment if allowed to drain into a sewer or seep into the earth.
Many car and truck wash facilities have now installed built-in reservoirs for containing the used wash water resulting from a vehicle wash. The used wash water is collected from these reservoirs and disposed of in an approved manner or recycled through a water cleaning system. However, similar used wash water containment procedures do not currently exist in the portable washing industry.
Portable spray washers have been used for years to clean industrial and commercial vehicles, buildings, sites, structures, and trailers or other shipping containers. These washers typically consist of a wash truck having a large water storage tank to provide a water supply. The truck typically carries its own spray wash equipment including water heaters, high pressure pumps, water softeners, soap injectors, sprayers, and hoses.
Most locations where a portable washer is used do not have built-in reservoirs or other means to contain and collect the used wash water. What is needed is a portable system that contains and collects the used wash water for recycling or disposal in an environmentally safe manner.